Winter Solstice - Total Lunar Eclipse 2010

So did you get to see it? Sadly due to immense fog we didn’t . Shame given that the last time it fell on the winter Solstice was nearly 400 years ago. But not to worry the next one on the Solstice (oh ok a day before) will be in the comparatively short amount of time in 2029!

For those of you who might not quite know how a lunar eclipse works it’s where the Moon passes through the shadow created by the Earth blocking the Sun’s light. This creates an effect where the moon colour appears to be a shade of red/pink.

I found the above youtube clip and really liked it, clear and without newreporters adding their own comments you can sit back and watch the beauty.

Cernunnous and Winter Solstice

I like reading up and learning about all sorts of things but find that in this day of technology books of old are suffering. I have to wait for days for a book I've ordered to come into the shop or from online suppliers. So often I find myself wandering the echoey halls of the web and trying to piece together fact from fiction. Now of course a lot of what we study and believe is called by lots fiction but the key word in what we do is faith. As such I take a lot of what I read with a pinch of faith and try and pass that on to others.

The recent study I wanted to read was about Cernunnous. I feel drawn to Him, in His many forms and am often hunting out writings, art, images etc of Him. I wanted to share some of my thoughts with you all but seem unable to put the words together in any fitting form today (a bit of a mental block with everyday madness filling the gaps). So I thought I'd post some information I found on Themystica.com and let you read it for yourselves.

Cernunnous was the Horned God of the Celts. He was associated with the hunt and fertility. Occasionally he was portrayed with serpent legs, torso of a man, a head of a bull or ram, or shown with stags wearing antlers. The name Cernunnous means horned.

He is the lord of life, death and the underworld. Being the Sun to the Goddess of the Moon as he alternates with her in ruling over life and death. With her he cooperates in continuing the cycle of life, death and rebirth, or reincarnation.

His own life is said to be circular. The Horned God is born at the winter solstice, marries with the Goddess at Beltane (May 1), and dies at the summer solstice. His death represents a sacrifice to life.

The Horned God's origin possibly dates back to Paleolithic times, as evidenced by a ritualistic cave drawing found in the Caverne des Trois Freres at Ariege, France. The picture is with one of a stag standing upright on its hind legs, or a man dressed in a stag costume performing a dance. The wearing animal clothes in rituals to secure game was practiced in Europe for thousands of years.

He was worshipped by the Romans and Gauls who portrayed him with a triple head. Sometimes the Romans depicted him with three cranes flying above his head.

Other deities associated with, or others have claimed them to be representative of, Cernunnous, the Horned God, are Herne the Hunter, a ghost of Britian; Pan, the Greek god of the woodlands; Janus, the Roman god of good beginnings with his two faces looking in opposite directions representing youth and age, and life and death; Tammuz and Damuzi, the son- lover-consorts of Ishtar and Inanna; Osiris, the Egyptian lord of the underworld; and Dionysus, the Greek god of vegetation and the vine, whose cult observed rites of dismemberment and resurrection."
The Celtic god Esus was analogous to Cernunnous. Similarly the animal of Esus was the bull. Esus was sometimes identified with Cernunnous who appears on the Gundestrup Cauldron. Supposedly Esus was also ruler of the underworld, but this did not keep his worshippers from considering him to be a god of plenty and portraying him holding a sack of coins.

Most frequently whenever Cernunnous was depicted or portrayed, he was shown as an animal, usually a stag, or surrounded by animals as he is depicted on the Gundestrup Cauldron seated in a lotus position. This was seen as appropriate as he was the god of the hunt and fertility. He was also the ruler and protector of the animal kingdom. He is often seen holding a ram-headed serpent.

In the Welsh tale "Owain" his role as a herdsman-god and a benign keeper of the forest is told. Here he summons all the animals to him through the belling of a stag. All the animals even serpents obediently came to him "as humble subjects would do to their lord."

Some feel that the honoring of Cernunnous even continued in the early Christian era. Many of the early ascetics still had pre-Christian longings for nature. To substantiate this there is the account of Saint Ciaran of Saighir. This humble man went into the wilderness to establish a cell that would eventually become a monastery. A boar came, seeing the man he was terrified, but later returned and was submissive to the man of God. Saint Ciaran considered the boar his first monk. The boar was later joined by a fox, a badger, a wolf and a stag. These animals left their liars to join the community.

There are other tales such as this one that give rise to suspicions they caused early Christian writers and artists to associate Cernunnous with Satan. Although some Christians never lost their love of nature. Saint Francis of Assisi is well known for his love of animals and birds.

Come Winter

There can be no doubt that we are firmly residing in Winter. Yule is here soon and the logs are already burning. But in amongst the cold and snow that blankets everything people bustle along, busy as ever, capable now of moving again and it seems to me that they have forgotten to look around them. To slow down and really notice the changes. Hard to you say? Well yes I suppose it is but it is also important too. Despite the modern day appliances and so called civilization Winter still levels the playing field. The elderly and young alike need more care. Jack Frost doesn’t mind their ages, only gleeful that they might not be able to keep him out. So some of us have agreed, we will take note of who our neighbours are. Remind ourselves of the community again and try and help. Even if it’s only to pick up a pint of milk or to bring some companionship to them for a while. So here’s the challenge, learn the name of your neighbour before Yule and offer a little bit of that most important thing you have to give; some time and friendship.

The following poem is from someone who falls into the above category yet stubbornly refuses help at times being mentally and almost completely physically independent still at the grand age of nearly 92. A cantankerous fellow, but always there in our hearts and in his own way a leveller too. Oh the fun I have had watching him with Littleun, 80+ years separating them, but both gleefully laughing as they watch “Tom and Jerry” together (“originals minds you, none of this newfangled rubbish”) or as they enjoyed the hotdogs and mince pies on fireworks night in the heated conservatory. Anyway, hope you like it:

COME WINTER

When the bold little robin sings his sweetest song,
And the lanes and meadows are cold and white:
When the nights that follow are dark and long,
Then nature sleeps through the winter’s night.

While, at the break of dawn, stillness keeps
Bar meadow pond where the waters slow,
And snug, the barren hedgerow sleeps
Beneath a mantle of drifting snow.

See how the winter spreads its snowy shield,
Blending church and cottage into one:
The snow-faced clock, its time concealed,
Save for the bell and the chimes that run.

Beside the stream, the mill in hoary mist
Is still, while nature sleeps in settled snow,
And ice bounds trees whose branches twist
In restless dreams, while northern breezes blow.

So softly tread this carpet white, hinder not
The fragile warmth the distant sun may bring:
For soon, there’ll be no rest in nature’s cot,
When dawn awakes and morning turns to spring.

Poem © PRISM

Photo mgk_online's

Boo!

Bet that made you all jump! Yep we are still here, almost. It’s been a mad old month and what with one thing and another I just haven’t been able to get over here. Hope this finds you all well?

So, how are all the Winter preparations going? We got caught out and have snow, the earliest this area has seen for about 17 years (so the met office tells us). The heating bill would be rather high, if it were working that is! So we’ve gone back to good old fashioned water bottles and extra layers plus now have the excuse of snuggling up next to each other on the sofa. We are crossing our fingers that the snow doesn’t stop school as they have on 17 days to go and so much fun to cram into it all. This is Littleuns first Winter at the new school and they are teaching them some “lovely” songs to sing at the show (though if I hear the rap version one more time I might scream an ickle bit).

Well this month we have run about in all sorts of places, started it with the autumn turning out and mild days with wandering in Wisley admiring the colours and new displays. In particular the new children’s play area. A natural area made from fallen trees the children had many things to climb on, build and use. The tree trunks were carved with some interesting patterns too:

We’ve been to the theatre, Ice skating, sealife centres and oh so much more, plus have bulk brought glue, glitter and felty-fuzzy stuff for Littleun to make things over the next few weeks. So if you are interested take a look at our ideas in the coming month, I promise I’ll post, honest!

Winters End

Persephone, Goddess of Spring,
Who chases away the winter chill,
And light and life doth with her bring,
Sings forth from every meadow and hill.

Out of Winter’s cold and icy chains,
She delivers a desolate dormant land;
The blooming beauty of a warm spring rain
Is the bounty of her benevolent hand.

The Baroness is a picture of grace,
With a lively mind and sparkling eyes;
Friendly and inquiring of each new face,
One will find her witty and wise.

With festival and martial display
We celebrate her natal day.

Jeffrey Stultz

An Dubhach; The Gloom

After feeling rather rough for a few days I’m starting to get better. I went for a lovely walk this morning and noticed that most people are looking down and gloomy. My Scottish friend calls it An Dubhach, a description of how folk feel as they head for mid-winter.

I find it sad that many are depressed at this time of year, yes its getting colder and yes the Sun isn’t about each day for as long as we would like but there is still much joy to be had from our surroundings. A walk in the woods with the robins looking down on us or a wander on the beach with the quietness after the foreign students with their constant chatter have headed back to warmer climes. Or seeing the cheer in the little girls face as she studies the dolls house through the frosty glass window, hoping no doubt to be getting it as a gift later on. One of my favourite ways of cheering up is a mug of hot chocolate as I sit next to the open wood fire, fire sparks creating patterns as they escape up the chimney, Littleun calling them the “fire Faeries” and laughing as they “dance”. We also spend this time of year making gifts and helping a neighbour who suffers terrible arthritic pain which the cold aggravates but who never lets the pain grind her down and she always has a smile and a kind word.

So when you’re wandering around suffering An Dubhach don’t worry, before long the light will return and in the meantime just look a little harder past the grimy dirt of Winter coming and see the hidden joys..

One hour to delay the coming Winter.

This weekend gone we have changed our clocks back from British Summertime to GMT and the difference is immediately noticeable. The coldness has snapped back in, though that’s probably due to the wonderful cloudless sunny days we’ve had and we have the sharp smells of coal and wood fires being lit as we walk home in the early darkness. With eagerness I find Autumns treats knowing that Winter is around the corner. I love this time of year. It’s good for reflection and starting anew, becoming more aware of our surroundings as everything seems clearer after the heated haze of summer. As this is also the time of year when we remember our ancestors I thought I’d share a poem that my Grandfather wrote. Hope you like it.

One hour to delay the coming Winter.

‘Tis winter time, wind back the clocks,
We have an hour to spend:
A bonus from the day in spring
When time was free to lend.

Waste not that hour when the clock strikes two
In restless sleep unplanned;
For we may live luxuriously,
With golden time in hand.

Across the hills, let’s greet the sun,
That fades the waning moon,
And wake the birds upon the bough
For we may call the tune.

And tread a path through autumn leaves,
In woodlands golden brown,
Or in the breeze that sweeps the street,
Lets dance throughout the town.

Feel free to spend each precious tick,
On treasures quaint and rare,
Or give a moment to a friend
Now that we have time to spare.

And if one part of summer-time
Was rashly spent before,
Then hold my hand and take this chance
To spend that hour once more.

copyright sja2001/PRISM Books